ZEELAND, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Apr. 13, 2022) – One of Zeeland’s long-standing eateries was destroyed by fire late on Tuesday night.
According to Zeeland Fire Chief Ross Tibbets, he was the first on the scene at the Community Restaurant off of Main Avenue around 12 midnight to find the structure already engulfed in flames. “There was fire already through the roof and visible fire inside of the building from various windows,” he said. “It was always a challenge (to keep the flames from spreading to neighboring homes and buildings).
“From our perspective, we always focus on taking care of the exposure first, but in this case, there was not any exposure. Crews got on the scene in a timely manner and we got water on the building as quickly as we could, but the fire was too advanced.”
The building was vacant at the time of the fire, and Tibbets said that no first responders were hurt in bringing the blaze under control, which took about two hours. No cause of the fire was immediately determined.
The current owners of the Community Restaurant, who took over the eatery in 2020 after family ownership for several decades, said in an overnight post on Twitter: “To our friends, coworkers, family, customers, we are devastated to inform you that Community Restaurant had a fire tonight and the building is a total loss. We are in shock and have no idea what our future holds, but also thankful that the fire happened after hours with no one in the building and there were no injuries or worse. At this time there are many questions but until there is an investigation we can not speculate as to the cause. We ask for your prayers for everyone affected as this will no doubt be a hard time in the weeks and months to come. Thank you so much EVERYONE for all your support, help, and encouragement over the past 2 years since we took over, and a massive THANK YOU for all the fire departments and emergency workers for your work and effort.”
Apr. 12, 2022; Zeeland, MI, USA; Zeeland Firefighters combat a blaze at the Community Restaurant. (photo contributed by Khristina Buckowing)
Apr. 12, 2022; Zeeland, MI, USA; Zeeland Firefighters combat a blaze at the Community Restaurant. (photo contributed by Khristina Buckowing)
Apr. 12, 2022; Zeeland, MI, USA; Zeeland Firefighters combat a blaze at the Community Restaurant. (photo contributed by Khristina Buckowing)
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